Fear is a barrier towards living one?s life to the fullest. All people fear something. Some people fear death, getting married, closed areas, being alone, spiders, cats, dogs, etc. It is normal to fear; however, there are certain phobias or fears which could really be hindrances in living one?s life normally, and these should be treated. Fear of tigers, for example, is a fear that is not necessarily going to affect one?s daily life, not unless he lives in the jungle where ...

Did you know that psychologists have now come up with a formula for happiness? They call themselves "positive psychologists" and led by Professor Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania, who has been described as the father of positive psychology, they have a formula for happiness. It is simply: Pleasure + engagement + meaning = happiness. I do not have a degree in psychology but I am a student of human kind and it seems to me that while it seems simplistic...

While the term depression has been commonly used that people tend not to take it seriously anymore, it is a very serious condition that could impair one?s life. Depression is very difficult. It can debilitate one?s normal functions, making even the most mundane tasks such as getting up from bed or eating breakfast seemingly difficult. It is sad to think that a lot of depressed individuals are not treated because of the high costs of therapy. However, coping with depression is...

I have long been a fan of the Reader's Digest "Laughter, the Best Medicine" column and often suspected that laughter was good for me. After all, I was raised on the mantra "the family that laughs together, stays together" and my family possesses a long list of "in" jokes that require nothing more than a catch phrase to crack up the whole clan. However, now my suspicion that laughter is good for me can actually be backed up by scientific evidence. Humor can improve memor...

Insomnia is described as difficulty in falling asleep or difficulty to achieve continuous sleep. It is not a disease or diagnosis but a symptom. An average person experiences insomnia at least once in their life. It was found that 30-50% of people are insomniacs. All age groups are affected by insomnia. Its incidence increases as age increases because stress is the most common cause of insomnia. Furthermore, women are more affected by this than men. The cure for insomni...

When do we realize the value of an item? We oftentimes realize the value of something when we lose it. This is especially true if the item is irretrievable. Oftentimes, we do not see its value when we still have it. Only in losing it did we awaken to the reality of its importance. Probably, the most attention-deprived thing in life is time. People hardly give importance to time. When we look back to the days gone by, we are confronted with the uneasy and guilty feeli...

Hypnosis is a modified condition off consciousness when the brain?s activities are lowered. Thus, this state gives a feeling of relaxation. And contrary to popular beliefs, you do not need to be guided by a trance master for you to experience hypnosis. As long as your mind operates at a frequency lower than the usual, hypnosis can be properly done. When the mind is subjected to hypnosis, it becomes open to suggestions. That is why it is used in various situations to ...

Have you imagined yourself working at home? Many people are finding it more convenient and beneficial to work at home, especially with the proliferation of computer-related technologies. The tools required are already within budgetary reach. On the part of companies, untold savings are realized on working at home compared to conventional office expenses, which usually include rental and travel, among others. But the biggest saving of all is time spent on travel and dail...

There are moments in a person?s life that just leads him to feel overpowered by an uncontrollable fear of something that hinders him to do what he is supposed to do. He is then led to worry too much, lose focus and concentration, and leave him immobile for a certain instance. These moments are things that cause panic (uncontrolled fear) and anxiety (over-worrying). These moments cannot be totally removed from the human way of living, but there sure are ways on how to av...

Although it sounds trite, decision-making is something we all have to go through at least once every single day. The decision can be as simple as choosing what color of shoes to wear, to as complex as deciding how to tell your boss that you would like to move on and find another job. From clothing to ethics, decision-making is a major task we have to face, and we cannot afford to do it poorly. So how does one make a good decision? There are five main points to bear in m...